On April 21, 2016, the iconic singer Prince was taken from us; then the whole world turned purple. After news of the 57-year-old artist’s death hit the airwaves, monuments in cities across the U.S. were lit up with purple lights. All of that was done in honor and in celebration of Prince’s incredible life.
Imagine being so famous, that people are ecstatic to find a clip of you at 11-years-old. That’s what happened with a clip of Prince recently. As one historian put it, photos of the iconic singer Prince as a child are almost nonexistent. Interestingly, Prince’s features looked similar to how he appeared as an adult. He had the same mischievous eyes and infectious smile.
I’m sure that 11-year-old Prince didn’t realize that he would grow up one day to sell 150 million records worldwide. But that’s exactly what he did. In a clip, the pre-teen is seen speaking with a reporter in April 1970 about teachers from his school in Minneapolis that were on strike. Prince, for the record, backed the teachers’ strike. Somehow that doesn’t shock me.
“I think they should get some more money, ’cause they be working extra hours for us, and all that stuff,” Prince told the reporter.
Minnesota CBS affiliate WCCO found and restored the footage only to find Prince was the young man answering a reporter’s question. WCCO production manager Matt Liddy explained that Prince was discovered in the 13 minutes of archived footage when he sat down to watch it. Liddy realized on the spot who was featured in that clip. So, he didn’t tell anyone who he assumed that it was, and he asked others who they thought it was. Everyone agreed. It was Prince.
He told the network: “I grew up in Minneapolis, so all I cared about was looking at cool old buildings from the place I grew up. Did I recognize my old school? Did I recognize any landmarks?”
That’s when he recognized Prince.
“I immediately just went out to the newsroom and started showing people and saying, ‘I’m not gonna tell you who I think this is, but who do you think this is?’ And every single person [said] ‘Prince.’
Watch the Prince video here:
What a remarkable find. I’ve never run across anyone that hasn’t liked Prince’s music. Not one person.
